WKU Begins Three-Game C-USA Road Swing at Marshall Sunday

WKU Game Notes | Live Stream (C-USA TV) | Live Audio | Live Stats

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - WKU will take on Marshall on Sunday afternoon at Noon (CT) inside the Cam Henderson Center, kicking off the team's longest road swing of the season in conference play with three straight games away from Bowling Green.

In its most recent outing, WKU turned in one of its strongest defensive performances in recent memory and held UTSA to just 20 percent shooting (12-of-60) to earn a 73-38 win on Education Day on Thursday afternoon inside E.A. Diddle Arena. C-USA Freshman of the Year candidate Raneem Elgedawy led the way with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

Tashia Brown leads all C-USA players with 22.2 points per game and fellow preseason All-C-USA pick Ivy Brown is just short of averaging a double-double at 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The pair have combined to score just over 50 percent of WKU's points this season.

Preseason All-C-USA pick Shayna Gore leads Marshall (6-11, 0-4 C-USA) with 18.4 points per game and 43 total assists this season. Talequia Hamilton also averages double figures at 14.0 points per game and grabs a team-best 7.6 rebounds per outing.

After Sunday's battle, WKU will remain on the road next week with dates at North Texas (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Louisiana Tech (Sunday at 2 p.m.) on tap for the Lady Toppers.

GAME #19 / C-USA GAME #6 – WKU AT MARSHALL
WKU (13-5, 4-1 C-USA) at Marshall (6-11, 0-4 C-USA)
January 21, 2018 | 12:00 p.m. (CT)
Huntington, W. Va. | Cam Henderson Center (9,043)

QUICK SHOTS
- As of Jan. 20, WKU is ranked No. 56 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings and has faced three teams in the top 30 in Notre Dame, Missouri and Iowa. WKU is one of only two C-USA representative in the top 100 of the rankings, with UAB second at No. 93.

- Since joining C-USA prior to the 2014-15 season, WKU has met Marshall seven times, a mark that is tied for its most matchups against a single conference opponent alongside Old Dominion. The Lady Toppers are 6-1 against the Thundering Herd over that same span.

- Against UTSA on Jan. 18, WKU limited the Roadrunners to just 12-of-60 (20 percent) shooting from the field in its strongest defensive effort of the season. The 20 percent mark from the field was the lowest by any WKU opponent in a single game since the Lady Toppers held Puerto Rico's Interamerican University to 16 percent shooting on Dec. 20, 1993, in the San Juan Shootout.

- WKU has had at least seven blocks in each of its last three games, including a season-best 10 swats against UTSA, a mark that was tied for the fifth-most blocks in a single game in school history. The Lady Toppers lead C-USA with 72 total blocks this season and have had three five-block games by an individual after going nearly two full seasons without one as Raneem Elgedawy (twice) and Ivy Brown have hit that mark.

- Through 18 games, Ivy Brown has broken into the top 10 in rebounding in school history, ranking 10th all-time with 842 boards. The Hodgenville, Ky., native is also sixth in school history with 129 blocks and her 80.3 percent mark from the free throw line for her career is fifth among all Lady Toppers who have made at least 200 free throws.

- Tashia Brown leads C-USA and is 10th among all players in the nation with 22.2 points per game in 2017-18. Brown has not scored fewer than 13 points in any single game this season and has moved into the top 10 in school history in both field goals made (ninth, 660) and attempted (sixth, 1,552) for her career.

- Already 11th in program history with 1,730 career points, Tashia Brown is looking to move even further up the charts during her senior season. To move into the top 10 in school history, Brown would need to score 33 more points during her final season on The Hill.

- Through 18 games, WKU leads all C-USA teams and ranks sixth nationally for the fewest turnovers per game, giving up the ball only 11.8 times per contest. The Lady Toppers have had single-digit turnovers in seven games this season and lead the league in turnover margin at +6.9 per game.

- WKU is currently shooting 283-of-365 (.775) from the free throw line this season, with only four players shooting below 80 percent among those who have attempted at least five free throws. The Lady Toppers' 283 made free throws lead all C-USA squads so far this season, and their 77.5 percent success rate tops the league and ranks sixth in the nation.

- WKU has been very strong at collecting its own misses this season and has tallied nearly as many offensive rebounds as those on the defensive end. The Lady Toppers have pulled down a league-leading 16.6 offensive boards per game, and Ivy Brown leads all C-USA players with 4.2 offensive rebounds per game. WKU's 16.6 offensive boards also ranks 13th in the nation among Division I teams.

- Raneem Elgedawy's dominant 23-rebound performance against FIU set several records. Her 23 rebounds were tied for the most ever by an individual in a C-USA game, tied for third-most in school history and by any individual C-USA player in a single game and are the most in a single game by any underclassman in the nation this season.

- Against FIU on Jan. 11, WKU pulled down a season-best 61 rebounds, including 27 on the offensive glass. Those 61 total rebounds were tied for the eighth-most ever in a C-USA contest, as were WKU's 27 offensive boards. As a team this season, WKU is averaging 39.0 rebounds per game, currently its best mark in a single season since totaling 41.4 per game in 2011-12.

- In WKU's 101-47 victory over FIU, the Lady Toppers set a new C-USA record for the largest margin of victory ever in a C-USA contest. The 54-point win topped the previous record of 53 that occurred on three separate occasions, most recently in an 84-31 win for Rice over UTEP on Feb. 1, 2007. WKU's 54-point win was its largest against a conference foe since downing South Alabama by 58 points, 100-42, as a member of the Sun Belt on Feb. 26, 1998.

- Ivy Brown (22 points, 14 rebounds), Dee Givens (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Raneem Elgedawy (13 points, 23 rebounds) each had a double-double against FIU on Jan. 11, marking the first time under Michelle Clark-Heard that three different players have recorded a double-double in the same game. The double-double was the first of Givens' career on The Hill, while Brown (9) and Elgedawy (4) have each tallied multiple double-doubles this season.

- WKU owns an impressive record under Clark-Heard when breaking the 80-point barrier. The Lady Toppers have posted a near-perfect 53-3 mark when scoring 80 or more since the 2012-13 season.

- In games immediately following a loss since Michelle Clark-Heard took over in 2012-13, the Lady Toppers are 35-8; WKU suffered its first consecutive losses in the same season in nearly three years against Iowa and Notre Dame.

- Ivy Brown is currently tied for 18th in the country with nine double-doubles, already surpassing her total from the entire 2016-17 season. Brown has 27 career points-rebounds double-doubles, the seventh-most in program history by an individual.

- When holding opponents under 70 points this season, WKU owns a perfect 12-0 record and is 117-13 (.900) in that category dating back to the 2012-13 season.

- Just one week after Ivy Brown tied the program record with 16 points in the third quarter at Southern Illinois, Tashia Brown matched that mark in the third quarter against Toledo on Dec. 17. Brown scored 16 of the team's 18 points in the frame, including 14 straight points, and outscored the entire Toledo team, 16-13, over the 10-minute span.

- WKU has started a true freshman at least five times in each of the last four seasons. Tashia Brown earned five starts in 2014-15, Kayla Smith drew 31 starts in 2015-16, Sarah Price appeared in the starting lineup five times in 2016-17 and Raneem Elgedawy (18) and Sherry Porter (8) have been consistent starters for the Lady Toppers this season.

BROADCAST
Listen: 102.7 FM and 1450AM in Bowling Green (Jevin Redman, pxp)
Watch: C-USA TV (Online Stream)
Live Audio: C-USA TV (Online Audio)
Live Stats: Courtesy of Marshall Athletics

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ivy Brown

Tashia Brown

Raneem Elgedawy

Dee Givens

Sherry Porter

Sarah Price

Kayla Smith